For the next two days the men took to walking quickly and for long
periods of time, without any rest.
They would wake, have some food then head south to Phoride, and they
wouldn't stop walking until it was almost pitch dark night.
They only had one pack between them and they took turns carrying it.
Every several hours that elapsed, one would hand the pack to the other
while they walked.
They were making good time and were covering long distances with each
day that they walked.
They never stopped to eat food, they ate while they walked until they
reached the Serpent Strip; the land of the leper race.
In the three days that Boyce and Lloyd travelled from Sedara, they
covered over one hundred eighty kilometres (a remarkabl sixty
kilometres per day, of walking).
The men cast their eyes on the city of Palatka, sitting in the distance
on the floor of the Serpent Strip.
It wasn't an impressive city, made up of squat clay buildings that were
cube-shaped. Yet, there was something about the whole place that made
Lloyd and Boyce feel very ill-at-ease.
Boyce thought that they felt that way because of the hermaphrodites'
renegging on their agreement passage, signed with Besten. He was
afraid that the Palatkans would be the same way.
Lloyd was more optimistic about this leg of their journey. He told
Boyce that he shouldn't jump to any conclusions about trusting the
Palatkans. Nevertheless, Boyce was hoping to convince Lloyd to circle
around the Palatkan territory. He argued that going around the Serpent
Strip would only take an extra day's journey, but he believed it would
be peaceful, as-well-as uneventful. His other argument was the notion
that they could replenish their supplies with wild fruit and they could
kill game for food, along the way.
Lloyd finally agreed to Boyce's prodding suggestions and seeing that
his judgement for such things, throughout the course of this trek, was
indeed good.
Off to one side of the rock mound on which they stood they found an old
lion's den. There they secreted their pack and they went to sleep.
The trip would be more or less uphill for a while since the Krolalin
Range split into two parts; a smaller chain running all the way south
to Pomperaque and its three rises of land surrounding it: Bimini Hill,
Canon's Butte and Mount Benitar.
They knew that they were close to their destination, now just a week's
journey away.
They weren't going to take the chance that the Palatkans would turn on
them, as well.
Tomorrow they would circle the strip, endeavouring to avoid further
injuries and wear to their bodies.